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Cult of Goliath
Cult of Goliath The Cult of Goliath (A.k.a. Goliath Cult) is a genestealer cult origination on the Forge World of Graia, based in Manufactorum Harak. They appear in oranges and browns, colors of the industrial gear they have to work with. They are a small cult of only around ten-million individuals, however have spread to other Manufactorums and are building rapid support. Curiously, their evolution has halted at the fourth generation. History First Appearance The cult first made itself known out of necessity during a period in the 41st Millennium (The exact date has since been lost) with the coming of WAAAGH!!! Grimskull on the Forge World of Graia. While the Orks ransacked and pillaged the hab blocks, the Skitarii, PDF and even Space Marine reinforcements all rushed to Manufactorum Ajakis, the hab blocks elsewhere were largely defenseless. The Goliath Cult appeared and with their stashes of weapons, uncanny tactical abilities and physical prowess, managed to defend Manufactorum Harak until the Inquisition appeared. Public support and the comparative irrelevance of Harak in relation to Ajakis, as well as the cult going back into hiding, prevented them from being discovered by Inquisitor Thrax. The False Prophet The Cult of Goliath continued operation for quite some time. By 993.M41, they had reached a size large enough to create a beacon for Hive Fleet Goliath. The anticipated coming of their star gods revealed a false prophet in the arrival of Hive Fleet Kraken. Once again Imperial forces and Skitarii were focused on preserving Manufactorum Ajakis with only a tissue thin PDF force present to slow down the Tyranid advance long enough for the Goliath cult to recover from their collective shock and mount another resistance. By that point they had brood siblings within the PDF and had access to greater armored supply and heavy weapons to repel the invaders. During the assault, Imperial Forces considered Graia lost and consumed by Hive Fleet Kraken. On the ground however, a combination of total war and kill team missions were able to protect their hab blocks from Tyranid consumption. Eventually, a lost ship of Astra Militarum responders lost to the warp emerged and established a foothold. After the soldiers established a foothold, they created a beacon for other ships to follow. While the bulk of the Astra Militarum had written Graia off, a fleet of Skitarii Rangers and Vanguards were dispatched to save Ajakis and repel Kraken. Mutation in Crisis After a several year siege, Hive Fleet Kraken was repelled and the Cult of Goliath was left shell shocked by the coming of the false prophet as well as the decimation of their own number. They had lost much of their status within Harak and the PDF due to damages to both, their broodmind had been rended by the aggressive synapse beasts and many of their women had been killed or lost their hybrid children. The few pure strain genestealers left within the cult were too difficult to hide and, much to the cult's shock, were cast out to be killed by Skitarii sweep teams by the magus in order to prevent discovery in Harak. On the verge of collapse, the Patriarch and Magus assured the cult that they would continue despite their decimation. Hybrid females discovered themselves pregnant with more hybrids despite having already given birth, and their offspring were continuations of their fourth generation state. The cult has since been regrowing by infecting new members while birthing more and more 'fourth generation' members. It is unclear if this is due to some natural damage-control function in the genestealer reproduction system or if this is due to intervention on part of the Magus or her Patriarch. Recent History The Cult of Goliath have since picked themselves up from the muck left by the invasion of Hive Fleet Kraken and went into the 42nd Millennium strong. Due to artificial infections carried out by cult kill teams implanting the Patriarch's reproductive material in water tanks or food distributions, new branches of the cult have opened up in other Manufactorum sectors. Persaer, Odylix and most recently Ajakis have become homes to the cult. Ever since the invasion of Kraken, the cult has managed to perpetuate itself in its fourth generation state while focusing more on their survival than summoning Goliath. Their operation as more of a large gang than a true cult has contributed to them retaining a low profile on Graia. Expansions back into the PDF have allowed the cult a slight militaristic capability, though this is limited to a kill team within the cult used to carry out their will on other worlds and engage in space piracy. Culture "The Goliath Machine operates in perfect clockwork. It is through that clockwork we shall find salvation. It is through our function as cogs that we are worthy of placement within the great machine." - Magus Vaylacia Zorin The Cult of Goliath's faith is based on their upbringing on the forge world of Graia. A perversion of the cult of the machine, they believe that Hive Fleet Goliath is in fact a great machine constructed by the machine god himself and released into the universe in search of mortal cogs to find their place within it. As they reproduce, their members' validity as variables increases. When their collective is worthy, they believe they shall be slotted into the Goliath Machine and are honored to receive a place in 'the machine god's perfection'. They are assured that upon being interred into the Goliath Machine, their mind swill be transferred to new bio-forms deemed optimal by the clockwork algorithm. In their hab-block lives, the Cult of Goliath live as most forge world occupants, toiling away at the forges to earn their wages and worshiping the machine god. Most tend not to object to their esoteric practices of the machine faith, most mechanicus officials don't even notice the existence of the peons of their practices. When not at the forges, many assist the Magus in charity work with the Harak block. They tend to convert their specific zones of the hab into collectives for the cult, providing an idealistic safety net and faith in Goliath to lure in new followers. When the collective brings in enough money from their forge jobs and masses enough popular support, the cult tends to host lavish (by hab standards) block parties for their members new and old. They feast on large stores of soylent and shaped gruel, orgy, dance and play beautiful music to entertain the membership. When outsiders hear of the revelry and companionship of the cult's parties, many chose to investigate their activities and find themselves absorbed into the brood. Organization The cult maintains its collective mentality under their current matriarch, Magus Vaylacia Zorin, while awaiting for further orders from their Patriarch. She commands the clandestine affairs of the cult while the membership carries out her will. It's a simple arrangement that has served them well, though may need to change in the coming years as they expand their cells. The militants of the cult focus on guerrilla warfare and clandestine operations, preferring to send out kill teams or engaging in only small skirmishes. The cult has the capacity to engage in large scale conflicts with greenskin tribals or other raiding forces on Graia, however these engagements are incredibly costly to the cult. Notable Engagements Unknown, M41. WAAAGH!!! Grimskull and the Subsequent Invasion of Lord Nemeroth 993.M41. The Invasion of Hive Fleet Kraken 999.M41. Greenskin tribes grow within Harak and begin assaulting the Manufactorum. The Cult of Goliath put down the uprising as a local militia group assisting their kin in the local PDF in order to keep the problem from reaching higher attention and bringing the Skitarii or even Inquisition to their hab. 999.M41. Kill Team 'Goliath's Roar,' infiltrates the Persaer Manufactorun Hab Complex with a container of their Patriarch's reproductive materials. They manage to infiltrate the local supply station and infect the water supply for one of the hab blocks. 999.M41. Goliath's Roar infiltrates the Odylix hab complex in order to infect the local distribution system with their Patriarch's genetic material. 999.M41. Greenskin tribes appear to assault Persaer, mandating another response from the Cult of Goliath. Unfortunately, the responding force was overrun and their PDF detachment slaughtered. Skitarii forces managed to arrive later to secure Persaer, and Goliath immigrants to the Persaer hab confirmed several infected humans were still alive and carrying hybrid offspring. 000.M42. Greenskin tribe uprising begin and the Goliath Cult begins spreading into Manufactorum Ajakis through their brothers in the PDF relocated to that area. Goliath branches begin engaging Greenskin tribes across the open sands of Graia and within their hab blocks. Unknown M42. Several members of the Goliath Cult are taken out to the Rust Fields to assist in the Mechanicus' war effort. While present, they have begun infecting several locals. 001.M42. Goliath's Roar receives a small ship and begins raiding small trade lines to supply the cult in the wake of the crippled hab distributions. They engage Voidsmen on several dozen ships in order to acquire cargo. 001.M42. Goliath's Roar assaults another trade ship coming out of the warp, however discovers they stumbled another a Rogue Trader ship. The Elucidian Starstriders managed to repel their assault, pacify the Goliath's Roar in its entirety, however Elucia Vhane offered them clemency if they handed over some of their plunder. 001.M42. A detachment of the cult of Goliath is sent to engage a Khornate Cult on a nearby Agri-World to preserve the influx of food to their world. 002.M42. The Cult of Goliath repels a Drukhari raid on Harak, targeting the hybrids specifically. 002.M42 WAAAGH!!! Goresmash forms from several tribes out in the wastes and begins assaulting Harak among other habs. Goliath's Roar has attempted several high profile missions to cripple their efforts while the bulk of the Goliath cult engages them openly. The engagement has yet to come to a conclusion. 002.M42 The Hunt For Loot. Goliath's Roar discovered a derelict ship roaming in space. As they swept in for the salvage, they discovered warband known as the Dolorous Strain, accompanied by several daemons of nurgle, with the same idea. An exchange broke out over the salvage and Goliath's Roar managed to escape with several containers of food, medical supplies and personal tech, however lost several members in the process. 002.M42 Waste storms rolling into the habs disrupt the block's ration supply from shipping haulers, and the Cult of Goliath cell within Manufactorum Odylix set out to steal what food and water they needed to survive. A small combat force of Goliath cultists assault a guard post hoarding the remaining rations awaiting distribution orders, and escape with the haul after slaughtering the guards. 002.M42 In response to the raid in Odylix, the Graia Skitarii were deployed in kill teams to hunt down their stolen supplies and terminate the thieves. Nine flashpoints occurred across Odylix, seven of which resulted in the cult members present being slaughtered to the last man, woman and spawn. The remaining two managed to drive off the Skitarii rangers. 002.M42 Glorious Martyrdom. Realizing the cell has been discovered, the remaining members of the Odylix branch took it upon to themselves to throw attention off of the rest of the cult. The survivors engaged in a suicide raid to sabotage Manufactorum Odylix and kill as many Skitarii and Guardsmen as possible in the process. One sector was damaged severely by a melta-blast, and servitor teams confirmed none of the cultists survived, finding one of the pure-strain genestealer offspring among the sludge remains. Hopefully the AdMech will believe the cult has been eradicated. Remaining brood brothers and sisters in Odylix have since gone dark or fled the hab. Notable Members Vaylacia Zorin- The Magus of the Cult of Goliath, she leads her people with Charisma before psychic force. Due to her charm and appearance, she often hosts public events and appears as a philanthropist to create an image of the cult as more of a social club for the masses within Manufactorum Harak. Her warm, jubilant mannerisms make public support easy. Roboute Kanigan- The leader of Goliath's Roar and lover of Vaylacia Zorin, he has been appointed to his role thanks to his miraculous survival and combat perseverance during attack of WAAAGH!!! Grimskull and invasion of Hive Fleet Kraken. A solemn, cynical figure who's true motives and hopes are often hard to spot for outsiders. Category:Genestealer Cults